Terra Nova
by ackleswantsasnackles
Summary: Slightly different take on Terra Nova, where Josh is the main character. Instead of leaving behind a girlfriend, he left behind a BOYfriend, and he'll do anything to get him back, even if it means making a deal with the Sixers...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or any of its characters

A/N: This is the first chapter! I hope you guys like it! As always, reviews help make me a better writer and are welcome!

Chapter One

James Shannon glanced up from the gray wall of his prison cell when he heard the window of his door slide open. Hardly daring to believe it, he cautiously got up from his all-too-familiar prison bed, taking three shuffling steps over to the window.

It was nearing the end of his third year of prison. Three years of his life, rotting away in a cell. Three years of missing his wife and kids, all because he didn't want the government to take away Zoe.

Zoe. She was so amazing…so illegal.

In the year of 2149, years upon years of death and destruction had devastated the planet. The air was so polluted that people couldn't breathe without the aid of filtering masks. The plants of the planet had withered and died, and the rain was more acid than water. Resources such as food, clean water, and clean air were running low. The planet earth was dying, and so were its people. There was no hope, no future, no nothing.

Only the richest of the rich were able to afford to live in the domes—which were exactly what they sounded like. Giant domes, filled with clean air, where people could live like they used to. There was plentiful food and water, and everyone had hope.

The rest of the population were left to die.

The planet was too crammed with people to support its dying self. So population controlling laws had been passed. Each family could have no more than two children, providing that a mother and father was present. Four people overall. If a third child was produced, that child would be taken by the government and shot.

So when Zoe had been born, Jim and his wife, Elizabeth, had known they had to hide her away. That fate could never befall her. But it was only a few blessed years before she was found, and he fought the guards to keep them from taking him away.

Which was how he ended up in the cell. Missing out on the lives of his family. His children—Jim closed his eyes and wept at the mere thought of them.

Maddie, the seventeen-year-old who was probably smarter than he was, with her straight brown hair and warm doe eyes. She'd been constantly with her nose in a book, or fiddling with some electronic device. He was so proud of her-she'd follow in her mother's footsteps and become a very prominent woman. Her mind was one that could make change, and good change at that—she had a very strong sense of what was right and wrong, an amazing emotional intelligence, and a strong determination. She was a little quieter than her mother, but just looking at her, you could see how her eyes shone with a light that told you she'd go on to do great things.

Josh, his little boy, with his wide blue eyes and his never-ending questions. So curious about everything. He'd follow Jim around like a puppy, peppering him with questions and cocking his head to one while he waited for an answer, smiling at him innocently. He could never hurt a fly, or be mean to anyone. He was a little angel, but that made him weak—he'd just take whatever anyone threw at him without even thinking of standing up for himself. He'd be what, fifteen?

And Zoe. With her Indian appearance contrasting her blue eyes, and her sweet little smile. She'd be five years old, he remembered. He wondered if she still loved stories as much as she had before he'd gone to jail. Maybe she could even tell her own tales now.

Right then Jim put his hands through the small little window, just barely able to fit them through. His eyes fell on his son's for the first time in three years.

"Hello Daddy," Josh smiled, speaking in a breathy voice that was half-laughter, half-sobs. His big blue eyes sparkled with a light that he remembered from all those years ago.

"Hey," he wheezed, coughing slightly.

His eyes creased in concern. "I brought you a filter. Since they can't be bothered to filter the air in here." He pushed the mask through the window—a Rebreather 7000—and closed his father's fingers around it. Broken. He would get no clean air from it.

Glancing up with a question on his lips, he saw Josh's look and the small shake of his head and stopped himself. Obviously it had some use he hadn't discerned yet.

Josh leaned his forehead against the reinforced glass that prevented his escape. His black hair fell into his face as he laughed shakily. "I've got news," he whispered, suddenly not so happy. "Mom's been recruited for Terra Nova."

Jim's eyes widened. A probe had recently discovered a crack in time and space, one that transported things (and people) back to just after 85 million B.C, during the dinosaur age. It was a different dimension entirely, so any changes to its history would not impact the contemporary planet earth. Steadily, people had been sent back into that peaceful world, building up a colony that was being called Terra Nova—New Earth.

Terra Nova was a new beginning, where all past faults would be forgotten. It was a chance to re-do the earth and halt the mistakes made by the current people. However, it was just barely starting, so only the most useful and talented people were recruited, along with their families. Doctors, scientists, warriors, mathematicians, biologists, strategists—these were the kinds of people that get recruited by Terra Nova. People went through the portal in waves, called pilgrimages. Elizabeth would be going through on the—what—tenth?

But there was no way of communicating with the people in Terra Nova. No way of hearing from his family… "That's…wonderful," he managed, trying to swallow past the sudden lump in his throat.

His eyes shone. "Yes. You're going to love it."

"Time's up!" Josh left him spluttering in shock by the door as the guards firmly escorted him out. He sat down unsteadily, mind whizzing, filling with questions.

The filter. He hurriedly opened it up and two things fell out.

The first was a small chip, sleek and black, with no markings on it save for a single button.

The second was a folded-up slip of paper.

Jim pressed the button on the chip experimentally and jumped when a laser popped out and sliced through one of the legs of his prison bed, like it was butter. He gripped it in his hand firmly, smiling to himself even as a thrum of fear shot through him. Oh, Josh, he thought. If he was caught...He took a breath and shook his head, dispelling the thought.

The paper had plans on it. Plans that were painstakingly and carefully crafted and laid out. Plans written in Josh's hand. Plans that would ensure his freedom and travel to Terra Nova along with his family.

He'd get to see his family again. Three years had passed, but he'd see them!

Tilting his face upwards, James Shannon felt tears streaking down his face, but for the first time in three years they were tears of happiness.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or any of its characters

A/N: Reviews make my day!

Chapter Two

"Josh! Get over here!" I carefully elbowed my way through the crowd over to my mother, throwing one last glance back towards the window that separated us pilgrims from those who were staying. Sam was up against the glass, crying and smiling and waving at the same time. I blinked back my own tears and waved, wondering why he couldn't have been recruited with me. His father was a richie from the domes, he had to be important, right?

My backpack shifted a little and I whispered back to it in a soothing voice, hoping no one else would hear. "Shh, it's okay, we're almost there."

Since Zoe refused to leave my side, she had gone in my backpack. I didn't really mind—my belongings consisted of a few threadbare sweaters and the faded pair of jeans I was wearing, so she wasn't taking up any space I needed—I felt more at ease with her small, warm body curled up against my back. Praying nothing would go wrong, I caught up to my mom and joined the line that was slowly inching forward, towards the portal.

The portal was terrifying—a big white vortex that crackled with energy, surrounded by complex machinery and people in white lab coats. We were near the end of the line, which consisted of maybe two hundred people and was about four to five people wide. It was slowly inching forwards, but we had an ample amount of time to wait.

Hopefully Daddy would arrive before we had to go. He should have shown up ten minutes ago and still wasn't here. The little voice in the back of my head said to trust the plan, that he would get here no matter the cost, but that didn't stop me from worrying. This could go wrong in so many ways. And the portal was only available for so long. A minute's delay could mean never seeing Daddy again.

Finally, as we were just stepping up to go through, I heard a shout and turned with relief to see Daddy running up to us. When I saw him in the prison, he had looked exactly as I remembered him—except perhaps a little older. But the way his face lit up when he saw us now made him look young again.

Maddie promptly turned and strode confidently into the portal. I shook my head at Mama's request for me to follow and hung back, wanting to make sure that he made it. She gave me a look but stepped through the portal, leaving me alone. The same nagging voice in the back of my mind that had reassured me earlier made me notice how the guards were talking to each other and looking at him. How they were starting to step forward.

"DADDY, RUN!" I screamed. He sprinted to catch up, but the guards blocked his way. There was a furious exchange of words, and the guards began to try and push him away. My heart was in my mouth as the guard by the edge of the portal asked me politely to step through.

He had to make it. He just _had_ to. I'd broken who knows how many laws to get him here.

"I told you to _step through,"_ the guard said, a little more firmly. I stayed frozen in place, watching him talking, pleading with the guards. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening…

A hand seized my arm. The guard's face was twisted with annoyance. "Go through!" I was pushed roughly towards the portal, tripping over my feet and beginning to fall. My eyes widened in surprise, my arms windmilling in an attempt to keep me from stumbling into it. But I fell forward anyways.

The last thing I heard before everything went white was gunshots.

I floated for a few moments, my mouth open in a silent scream. Everything was silent, and though I kept falling, time seemed to have slowed down. White energy swirled around me, and my entire body tingled. My hair was blown about as if in a wind, though there was none present; Zoe trembled against me and I tried to do something to reassure her but couldn't even blink. For a moment the tingling intensified into a searing pain, one that made me want to die.

Then everything popped back into reality and I was flying through the air, skidding to a painful stop on my stomach. The fall winded me and I curled into a ball, trying to will the lingering pain away and gulp air back into my lungs. Dust stung my eyes and filled my mouth, giving my tongue a leathery feel.

"Whoa!" There were several shouts of surprise from around me, and I finally dared to glance up, wincing as the sun shone brightly into my eyes.

Wait—the sun? I could see the sun! Mouth opening in shock, I rolled onto my side, wincing, and looked around with wide eyes.

There were trees everywhere, just as I had read—gigantic trees, as tall as a skyscraper, with big verdant leaves that filtered the golden sunlight into a lime green color as it dappled the ground. The area I was in, however, the colony, had been cleared. It was gigantic—I could see what looked like a market off in the distance, as well as buildings that looked like houses. Everything was surrounded by a big fence, made of horizontally-laid tree trunks that were about as wide as my palm, with twice as much space in between them. The fence stretched up immensely high, all the way up to the treetops.

The ground was a dusty silt, and around me stood close to twenty people. Some were clad in the black armor of security officers, while others were in the loose blue uniforms of doctors, while still others were in various casual clothing.

But then I noticed that there were several guns pointed at me and put my hands up, coughing and wheezing as the dust made its way down my throat when I tried to swallow.

The only security officer who wasn't aiming a gun at me gave a signal, and the guns were put away. He was tall, with bright blue eyes and white hair that was closely cropped and neatly trimmed into a beard. The way he carried himself made me think he was the leader of this place.

"I'm Taylor," he told me in a gruff voice. "Leader of Terra Nova."

I'd assumed correctly. "Josh Shannon," I said cautiously, attempting to sit up. I made it, hugging my knees, but almost fell back down again because I was so dizzy.

"You made quite an entrance there," he commented.

I scowled. "They threw me through." On to more important matters. "My mother and sister just came through—where are they?"

"They've been escorted back to the orientation center along with everyone else," Taylor said, kneeling beside me as some of the medics did so as well. I batted their hands away at first, but eventually allowed them to take my pulse and shine lights in my eyes when Taylor gave me a warning look. "You're the last one?"

"My father," I said, remembering and jumping to my feet, even though I nearly fell over. "He was supposed to follow me through." Turning around, I tried to swallow my panic and demanded, "Why isn't he here? Where's the portal?"

"We can't see it from our end," the woman next to Taylor said. She was wearing eyeliner and had tanned skin with black hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, but looked every bit as tough in her security uniform. "Give him some time. He'll be through."

He might not, I thought, but didn't say that aloud.

One of the soldiers tried to take my backpack. I jumped away from him, but another grabbed it from behind and yanked it off me, setting it down against the fence. I itched to go over and see if Zoe was okay, but then again, she wasn't supposed to be here, so I forced myself to stay where I was and wait for Daddy.

He didn't disappoint, appearing suddenly, with a pistol clenched in his hands. Everyone came to attention again, pointing their guns at him. "Daddy, put it down!" I said, but he didn't, engaging in a staring contest with Taylor. God, did he kill someone back at Hope Plaza?

"Check the bags," Taylor said to the soldier to his left. He was young, maybe in his twenties. Pulling out a knife, he stepped over towards my backpack.

"NO!" I screamed, jumping at him and shoving him aside. Taylor gave a shout, and I knew the guns would be focusing on me. The soldier kicked out at me, but I somehow got past him and knelt to unzip the bag, pulling Zoe out into my arms. She was crying, and held me so tightly it hurt, burying her little head in my shoulder. I hugged her closely, terrified about what could have just happened.

There was silence from behind me. I hesitantly turned around, still breathing hard. Scared of what I would see. Would they take her away? Would they _kill _her? I wouldn't let that happen; I'd fight until they killed me. What good would that do her? How could I have gotten so far, only to be stopped now?

Everyone, even Daddy, was staring at me with wide eyes. The soldier who'd almost killed Zoe looked horrified, like he was about to be sick.

Taylor was the first to find his voice. "Who is this?" he asked, voice dangerous.

"Zoe," I said, lifting my chin. "My sister."

His eyes flashed. "A third child?"

"What are you going to do to her?" I asked, meeting his eyes without hesitation. His expression was unreadable, which scared me—I was always able to read people. Always.

"Don't let them hurt me Bhaiya," Zoe cried softly into my ear. _Bhaiya._ The Hindi word for brother.

"I won't," I said, staring hard up at Taylor. Hoping against hope that they really would do nothing. "I won't ever let them do that."

Taylor's eyes softened, and he even smiled a little. "Come on, you'll miss Orientation."

Daddy got to his feet as we followed Taylor across the colony. I let out a breath of relief and opened my mouth to greet him, to let out all of the pent-up words I'd been dying to say to him ever since I saw him running towards me past the guards.

"Hello, Zoe," he crooned, taking her from me. She frowned and held onto me firmly, but I pried away her little fingers and coaxed her away with soothing murmurs and glances until she let him hold her, all of her muscles tensed. "My name's—"

"Daddy," she said with a shy smile.

"That's right," he said, grinning at her. We kept walking. He glanced at me, and the look in his eyes was so carefree, so happy, that for a moment there everything seemed alright again. It said everything that needed to be said, that he wouldn't dare say around all these people.

I swallowed hard and stared straight ahead as we came into view of a large building, at the very center of the colony. All of the people who had passed through the portal that day were there, gathered around it. I saw Mama and Maddie and waved; they rushed over, and there were tears and laughter as they greeted Daddy. He embraced them, and cupped Maddie's cheeks and kissed her forehead. Started talking about how much he missed them, how glad he was to see them.

Just then Zoe squirmed out of his arms and came back to me. I held her tiny hand in mine and we wandered off together, as I was feeling a sudden need to get away.

We walked through the market, among the brightly colored stalls and vendors advertising their products. People, mostly women, bustled around carrying baskets of produce and cloth, among other things such as electronics. I came to realize that the currency were 'Terras,' which were roughly equivalent to the modern dollar.

People stared, as was expected; pilgrimages only came every three months, so they were eager to see the new arrivals. At first I thought they were mostly looking at beautiful little Zoe, with her startlingly bright eyes shining out of her darkly tanned face and her wavy black locks. But then I caught an uncomfortable amount of eyes on me, perhaps even more so than were on Zoe. It was then that I ducked my head, uneasy.

"Hey, Fresh!" It took me a few moments to realize that the woman was talking to me. Fresh? Was that some term for new pilgrims? She beckoned me over, holding out a fruit that looked like an avocado with spines growing out of it. "Free snack for the new arrivals!"

I thanked her politely and took the fruit, but then stood there, unsure of exactly how to eat it. Eventually I saw the vendor cracking one against the table, revealing the white fruit inside, and figured out how to eat it, handing half to Zoe.

The fruit was sweet and tart, about the consistency of an apple. The juice was sticky and plentiful, and by the time we were finished our hands and faces were covered with it. Zoe laughed when she saw me, all sticky with juice, and made me bend down so she could touch my face. She kissed my cheek and delightedly told me I tasted like sugar. I grinned and assured her she was just as sweet.

"Let's go wash off," she said happily, and took my hand in hers, leading me away from the market.

We pranced around for a little bit trying to find some sort of fountain, skipping mostly since she felt like it. I gave her a piggyback ride for part of the time, and twirled her around for another. She was so happy and full of energy, as always, and her positivity couldn't help but be contagious.

Eventually we gave up on trying to find any means of washing up and settled down in a field, an apple orchard really. I lay back in the grass, gazing up at the impossibly clear sky, while Zoe sang to me and wove daisies into flower crowns for both of us. It was impossibly peaceful, and I kept taking long, deep breaths, unused to having fresh air.

She had just laid down on my stomach, and we were pointing out cloud pictures, when a loud noise sounded. It was an animal noise, a really big animal noise, and it was close.

A shadow blocked out the sun. I looked up, and gasped.

It was a dinosaur. A brachiosaurus, to be exact. Gigantic, with a long neck (to reach the trees that were its diet) and tiny head. Each of its legs were thicker than any trees I'd ever seen, and it was leaning its head over the fence to regard us curiously.

"Zoe, look! Don't be afraid, it only eats plants," I said, jumping to my feet and helping her up. "That's a dinosaur!"

"Can we feed it?" she asked excitedly, reaching down and grabbing a fallen branch. I nodded with a grin, and picked her up, holding her above my head so she could be as close to the dinosaur as possible.

By some trick of fate, the dinosaur actually saw us and leaned down, delicately taking the branch between its teeth. One big eye, the size of a basketball, looked directly at me and blinked. Once. I slowly lowered Zoe to the ground as the dinosaur crunched on the branch, and we both stared in awe.

The dinosaur's head came closer to me, and I bent down to pick up a branch without thinking. It brought its head even closer to me to take it, and its breath blew my hair back from my face.

Zoe and I were both grinning like idiots now, but then the dinosaur did something that made my jaw drop.

It brought its head down and nuzzled me.

A dinosaur _nuzzled me. Touched _me.

I rocked sideways with the force of it, but it was being gentle to a degree I didn't know dinosaurs were capable of. Bringing up my hand, I ran it along the scaly brow, hefting Zoe up with one arm so she could do the same.

It was truly magical. I was petting a dinosaur. It was unbelievable. I fed it a few more branches, and it nuzzled me some more, breathing and blinking. It was so _majestic,_ so wonderful…words couldn't describe the experience.

Zoe laughed and ran around trying to find more branches. My hands ran over the dinosaur's skin, between its nostrils, while it blew air on me some more and nuzzled me until I fed it another branch. This time, its tongue touched my skin when I fed it. As the wide, flat teeth crunched, it looked at me, and there was a twinkle in its tawny eye. I stroked its skin some more. Another noise sounded—but it wasn't from the dinosaur. It sounded mechanical.

Just then, another brachiosaurus poked its head down. I laughed out loud as another pair of warm brown eyes blinked slowly at me. I was attracting an audience—of _dinosaurs._ This was so surreal.

I glanced back towards where the noise had come from, and flushed when I realized how many people were standing at the edge of the orchard, watching us with wide eyes and open mouths. At least the amount of people who had come with me on the pilgrimage. I could see Taylor and his fellow soldiers at the front, hands on their guns, and frowned. The dinosaurs weren't going to hurt me.

Then I saw Mama and Maddie and Daddy standing together, staring at us. Mama was smiling, while Maddie looked shocked, and Daddy could only be bothered to look at the brachiosaurus—brachiosauruses? Brachiosauri? I sighed and gave up trying to think of a plural form of the dinosaurs.

The dinosaurs nuzzled me, both at the same time, and I stumbled, a laugh bubbling out from inside me. But I'd fawned over them for enough time already—and created a spectacle. So I gave each of them one last branch, patted their scales, took Zoe's hand in mine, and strolled back towards the group of people that were waiting for me.

"Hello sweethearts," Mama beamed at us. "Look at what you found!"

"Amazing…" Maddie breathed, her eyes still on the dinosaurs. "Why would they do that?"

Mama wrinkled her nose, pulling me close and wiping my cheeks with her thumbs. "Josh!"

"It was a messy fruit," I said defensively.

"And I assume you got Zoe just as sticky," she said exasperatedly.

"Mama, Mama, I taste like candy!" Zoe exclaimed with such a bright smile that Mama couldn't be mad at us and laughed.

"Of all the inconsiderate…" Taylor marched up to me, glowering. "You're _not_ allowed to interact with the dinosaurs, let alone _feed_ them!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized as sincerely as I could manage. "I didn't know."

"Maybe if you'd stayed for the orientation you would've." He leveled a glare at me that made me want to disappear. "You've not been here for an hour yet and already you're breaking all sorts of primary rules, boy." Then he said the words that made me want to die. "Come by my cabin at five o'clock sharp." He turned and stomped away.

I stared after him, perplexed by his incessantly callous behavior and wondering how on earth I managed to get in trouble already. Sighing, Mama took my hand as if I were a child and led me, along with Zoe, away from the crowd.

"Josh," she scolded gently once we were away from people. "We just arrived. Lay low for a bit, okay? Mr. Taylor's probably got enough reason to be mad at you as is."

"Yes, Mama," I said miserably, missing Sam more than ever. He was always around to get yelled at with me, but now I had to face the music alone.

That was the problem with me; I somehow attracted trouble everywhere I went. When I was a toddler, or Zoe's age, being nice to everyone and smiling a lot was a good thing. But then I met other kids when I began school, and realized that most people treat genuine kindness as a horrible thing that should be punished. Constantly.

So life hated me. So everything that could go wrong always did, and funny little tricks of fate always ended up with me getting punished. It was alright when Sam was with me.

But now it wasn't.

Mama walked us up to a building—one story, made of wood and glass. The numerous windows were all open, because it was pleasantly warm out in the tropical climate. Stepping inside through the sliding glass doors, I couldn't help but grin. As much as I had convinced myself I wouldn't like this place, I was starting to.

I slipped off my shoes—I had this weird thing where I hated shoes and always went around barefoot—and padded around on the floor, which was stone tile, covered by mats woven in zigzagging patterns of gold and green grasses. Right to the left of the entrance was the kitchen, while to the right was a small area with couches and armchairs that was the living room. Through that were five doors.

The first door led to a moderately-sized bathroom with a working shower and sink and everything. The tiles were cream-colored, and there was a single skylight in the ceiling that shone sunlight down in a spotlight in the center of the room. There was a mirror above the sink, and I grinned when I saw that it was framed by tiny little seashells. Maddie would really like that.

One led to a patio out back, where you could see the sun setting behind the mountains that served as a barrier between one side of Terra Nova and most of the jungle.

One brought me to the master bedroom, which I quickly abandoned since I knew that would be given to Mama and Daddy. It was nice, with the only carpet in the whole house and wooden double-doors that I assumed led to a closet of some kind.

Another led to a wide (yes, wide—about twice as wide as it was long, like two rooms slapped together) room with two twin beds—one that I assumed Maddie and Zoe would be sharing, since Mama didn't want me and Zoe sleeping in the same room. Even though Zoe somehow always ended up sleeping at the foot of my bed, Mama kept trying to get her to stop. I was kind of hoping she'd give up, actually—it was nice to have someone to snuggle with at night when you were lonely.

The last opened into the room that I immediately claimed as mine. It was covered in so many windows I honestly believed there was more glass than wall. The result was a very sunlit room, which was excellent; I loved the sun. It wasn't too small, or big either—medium, really, but still a lot more spacious than my previous little room (ahem, it-was-a-cupboard-not-a-room-Mama, ahem, ahem) in 2149.

The rather high bed had such a thick mattress that when I plopped down on it experimentally I began to wonder if I'd ever be able to get up again. Next to the bed was a cute little nightstand with two drawers, made from the light brown wood that was holding a theme throughout the furniture in the house. On it was a lamp, a creamy color with—yep—more seashells. It looked pretty, but I made up my mind to trade it with Maddie's, which was more my type—simple, plain wood. Lastly, the dresser. It was about as tall as my shoulder, with four long drawers, and made out of the same wood as everything else.

"Josh," said a quiet voice from the doorway, and I looked up to see Mama. "I don't know what you did, but you got him here." She came forward and pulled me into a Mommy Hug—the kind that made everything seem better. "Thank you for that," she whispered into my hair. I closed my eyes, and for a second, everything seemed fine.

Almost.

"Come clean up!" added Mama, and I spent the next five minutes being viciously scrubbed at in the bathroom, valiantly protecting both me and Zoe from the spray of the shower nozzle.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or any of its characters

A/N: Reviews make my world go round!

Chapter Three

Unfortunately, the rest of the day was spent unpacking and it was all too soon before the clock struck five. Tossing my (now empty) backpack in the corner of my room, I resignedly told Mama where I was going and jogged out of the house.

Taylor had never really specified where his office was, so I just assumed it was the giant building at the heart of the colony.

The only two-story building in Terra Nova, it seemed even taller because it was built on big stilts. It was, like any other structure in the colony, made almost entirely out of wood and was a circular shape, with a balcony around the larger first level. I guessed that Taylor addressed the town from this balcony. There was a little stairwell leading up to the first floor, being guarded by a young man with tanned skin and closely cropped brown hair. He was holding a gun and seemed prepared to use it if necessary, which made me even more nervous when I arrived, slightly out of breath.

Why the hell did they need so much security around here? I wondered as I stuttered out why I was visiting and he let me pass with a smile that held some pity in it.

"Good luck," he hissed after me, and my heart flew into my mouth. Oh, snap, I was dead, wasn't I? He was going to, like, throw me out of the colony and leave me to the freaking dinosaurs.

The stairs seemed to stretch up for forever, but I was still at the top way too soon. The room had no furniture other than a giant desk set against the wall on one side. It was covered in so many stacks of papers I couldn't see the surface. Taylor was standing by the window, his back to me; the woman with the eyeliner from earlier—Washington?—was talking to him, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. Hoping that I could just leave and he would forget I was supposed to meet him, I started to edge back through the doorway.

"And where do you think you're going?" I froze as he swung round to face me with that same expressionless face as earlier. "I didn't say you could leave."

"I-well-ah-" I stammered, or something incredibly articulate like that. "Thought you were busy," I eventually managed to get out.

His mouth quirked up in a smile, and he honestly seemed amused. "Come closer, boy—I don't bite."

_Says you,_ I thought to myself as I edged across the room towards them.

"So it says here your father is currently serving out a six-year sentence in Golan prison," he said casually. My eyes went straight to his hands, where he was holding a tablet. "Can you tell me what he's doing here?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

His eyes bored into me. "I think you know better." A few strokes on the tablet, and a hologram appeared in the air in between us. It was a video—oh God. I felt myself slump in defeat. The security camera feed from Golan. You could see everything—it was clear that I'd initiated the break-out.

And then he had to go talk about it. "Why, after such a long time, did you finally decide to go visit your father in prison? Especially when minors aren't supposed to be allowed inside?"

I lifted my chin, trying my best to appear unafraid. "Pay someone in 2149 the right amount and they'll do anything." Yeah, paying someone. Like I ever had any money.

"How would a boy in a poverty-stricken family come around that sort of money?" His eyes on me were making me squirm.

I wouldn't talk about Sam. I wouldn't. So I swallowed hard, and said nothing, allowing him to assume what he may.

"I must admit, it takes courage to attempt something like that," Taylor said after a moment's pause. He stared at me, calculating, as I started at the near-compliment. "And then to smuggle your sister through."

"Look, you asked me to come here for a reason, and I know it's something other than this," I said finally, when it appeared that he was waiting for a response. "We can continue to go over what I already know, or we can get to the point and save us both some mind games and some time." I crossed my arms. "What are you going to do with me?"

Taylor tilted his head slightly to one side, his expression bordering on neutral but still carrying hostility in the way that he held himself and the unsympathetic look in his eyes. "That's what I'm about to figure out." He took a few steps forward, emphasizing the difference in our heights. I tilted my chin up so I could continue to meet his gaze, too scared to risk backing down. "We could always throw you outside the fence if you get too pesky."

He had to be joking. "I don't think you'd be too popular if you sent a fifteen-year old kid off to his death," I replied, heart hammering.

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't care about popularity."

"Do you really perceive me as that much of a threat?" I asked skeptically.

"Possibly in the future," he parried. Oh, so he thought I'd be all rebellious as a kid and then grow up to be some kind of supervillain who'd come back and take over Terra Nova, even though he'd probably be dead by then—_stop thinking about him dead, he can see it in your eyes,_ I told myself, shivering._ Or at least, he must be able to; why else would his stare feel so weird?_

And it was weird. I felt like he was stripping away every one of my outer protective layers, leaving me exposed and cowering before him. Not a very nice feeling, thank you very much. I tried to ignore this, failing miserably, and stared at him thoughtfully for a minute, then said, "Obviously you're just going to keep threatening me until I ask. What do you want?"

"I want you to work for me," he said immediately.

I blinked, wondering if I'd heard him wrong. "Scuse me?"

"I'm offering you a job," he said slowly, as if I were dumb.

I glared at him. "And what if I don't want—"

"The dinosaurs get particularly loud in the evenings," he said suddenly, as an animal screamed off in the distance. While I jumped and had a heart attack, he almost seemed to be expecting it. "I'd really hate to be trapped outside there, after dark…especially if I was a little—"

"Point taken," I grumbled, before he could continue and insult me somehow. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I'm willing to forgive your past mistakes, but you need to prove that I can trust you and that you can be of use to the colony." He pointed to the door. "You can get out and not come back until tomorrow morning."

I scurried out of there as fast as I could, slowing to a walk as I went down the stairs, given my incredibly clumsy nature. The same guard was posted at the bottom of the stairs, and he smirked at me.

Unclenching my hands, which I'd just realized were curled into fists, I forced a smile and walked away, back to our house.

When I got back and went to my room to fling myself down on the bed, Daddy was there. I felt kind of hopeful when I saw him, thinking that maybe he'd come to finally say hi.

"Sit." He patted the bed next to him. I sat. But when I saw his expression, my heart fell through the floor, because he wasn't happy. He looked furious.

_"__What did you think you were doing?"_ he hissed, taking me by my shoulders and giving me a shake. "Can you imagine what would've happened if they caught you? What they would've _done_ to you?"

"I was careful!" I yelled, finally losing it. _He_ was mad at _me?_ For what, saving his sorry ass? "And if you liked your cell so bloody much then why didn't you _stay_ there?! I mean, you abandoned us for three bloody years, what does another lifetime count?!"

His face was turning red as he stood. "I did not abandon you!" he bellowed. "I would never abandon you!"

"Well you did!" I shouted back, standing also. "If you'd have just let it go—"

"Then Zoe would be gone!" he screamed at me. "Do you want that?!"

"How dare you talk about Zoe!" I howled._ "I've_ known her for longer than you have! _You're _the one who's a complete stranger to her because YOU LEFT!" Tears were streaming down my face—great, that was the last thing I needed. "YOU LEFT ME BECAUSE YOU DON'T CARE!"

"GET A GRIP!" he roared, shoving me away from him angrily. I lost my balance and sprawled backwards onto the floor, my head snapping back and hitting the ground with a crack. Once the stars cleared from my vision, he was gone.

Pulling myself up onto the bed, I stared blankly out the window as tears streamed silently down my face. My heart ached—for Sam, for my shattered relationship with Daddy, and for the life I'd just been forced to leave behind.

I didn't get much sleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or any of its characters

A/N: Well, here's chapter four! I have all the way up to chapter five written, and chapter six's under way. It was interesting to find this on my computer because I wrote this last year... I haven't edited it too much so any tips are welcome!

Chapter Four

I woke just as the sun was starting to rise, and promptly tried to fall back asleep, groaning. My sleep-deprived muscles caused my arm to flop around limply as I tried to disable the high-pitched beeping noise that had started me awake. The digital clock shut up after a few half-hearted slaps, at which point I sat up, resigned to the fact that it was morning and I had to get up. Seeing that it was seven o'clock and that meant I'd only managed to grab two hours of sleep, I groaned aloud and tried to swing my legs out of bed. They wouldn't budge.

Zoe was fast asleep on the foot of my bed, curled up on top of my legs. I smiled, shaking my head, and instantly forgot about how tired I was. She was just so damn cute.

"Hey, Zo," I whispered, smoothing her hair back from her forehead. "Good morning."

Her blue eyes blinked sleepily up at me. "Good morning Bhaiya," she smiled, and sat up so I could get out of bed.

It was at that very instant that Mama and Daddy threw open my door, looking frantic. "Zoe's—" began Daddy in a panicked voice, but they both stopped dead when they saw us.

"Stupid," Mama said to herself, smacking her forehead. "Of course." Oh, they must have thought something happened to her when she wasn't in her bed this morning.

"Guess which beautiful little girl somehow found her way back to my room last night?" I asked, kissing the top of her forehead. Zoe smiled and hugged me around the waist.

"What?" asked Daddy of Mama, confused.

"They're very attached," she said to him in a low voice, beaming at us. "She can't sleep if he's not there."

"Because I'm his jitterbug!" Zoe chirped, and we all laughed, even Daddy.

"Yes, you are," I said, nuzzling her nose with mine. "C'mon, let's have breakfast."

So I carried her in on my back, holding my arms out to the sides and making whooshing noises like I was an airplane. She shrieked with delight, urging me to go faster. With a laugh, I plopped her into her seat at the table and went to find some decent food.

"Who hid the Cheerios?" I yelled from the pantry.

"I did," Maddie said, appearing from her bedroom with two glasses of—my stomach roiled at the sight of it. It was a putrid green color and _smelled _God awful. "Your stomach needs help to adjust to the new diet."

"I'm supposed to drink _that?"_ I asked, frowning. "Maddie, you know better than to attempt cooking!" Seeing her vile look, I dodged her swat and put my hands in the air. "Kidding, kidding!"

"It's good for you," insisted Maddie. "Now—"

I couldn't believe my luck when someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it!" I shouted, scrambling to reach it.

It was the same young soldier who'd been at the stairs yesterday, I noted with confusion as I spoke. "Wh—"

Without a word, he grabbed my arm and began dragging me away from the house. "What are you doing?" I asked uncertainly. "Am I in trouble?" God, hadn't Taylor and I been _over_ this already?

"Taylor," he said shortly. "You're late for work."

I broke away from him. Oh, work. I totally hadn't forgotten that I had _work._ "Can I at least put a _shirt_ on?" I gestured down at my clothing, which consisted of a pair of sweatpants and nothing else. "It's _cold_ out."

He shrugged. "Your fault for sleeping in."

"Seven o'clock is freaking early!" I said incredulously. "Sleeping in is, like, noon!"

"Maybe that's so back where you came from," he said, shaking his head. "But this place is different." He made as if to take my arm again.

"I can walk," I snapped, heading towards the central building.

"You're going the wrong way," he called after me.

Infuriated, I swung around, hands on hips. "Where does he want me to go then?" I knew I had no right to be mad at him, that I was really mad at Taylor, but Taylor wasn't there and he was.

"The research labs," the soldier said mildly, somehow still unoffended. "You don't know where those are, which is why he sent me to escort you."

I folded my arms and remained unconvinced.

He relented. "…and that he didn't think you'd…arrive," he said. "To put it delicately." With that, he turned and started walking away. It was clear that I was to follow him.

"Oh _really."_ I glowered at nothing in particular, reluctantly following him. The occasional pebbles poked my feet, causing me to wince and try and step more carefully. "I said I'd show up," I mumbled to myself as we walked. "I don't go back on my promises."

The labs were all one building, two stories high, and made all out of white metal. I jumped as the door slid shut behind me, instantly uneasy with the place. Sure, there were plenty of windows and everything was very open, but the whole thing reminded me of a hospital, especially with the white tables and shelves full of scientific equipment everywhere. The people in white lab coats, working diligently at their tables, didn't even bother to look up as we passed. I caught glimpses of holograms of DNA, what looked like a dinosaur egg, and manymanymany different plants and bugs and such.

The soldier led me up to one of the tables, where a man was sitting hunched over a microscope. He had scruffy blonde hair and some stubble on his chin, with bags under his eyes and rumpled clothes. It seemed as if he'd stayed here all night.

The soldier cleared his throat, and the man jumped, glancing up from his work. "Malcolm, this is—what's your name?" the soldier asked, turning to me.

I scowled. "Josh."

"Right, Josh," he said, turning back to the man. "He volunteered—"

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, _volunteered._

Catching my look, the soldier tried again. "He's here to help. Taylor sent him; said you had needed help with filing papers?"

Malcolm brightened. "Oh, right, this way," he said to me, jumping up from his chair and scurrying over to the next room. I left the soldier with a dirty look and followed him to what turned out to be the largest, dirtiest room I'd ever seen.

"We're not exactly the most organized facility," Malcolm said sheepishly, as I stared in horror at the papers. They were _everywhere._ I doubted there were any in the actual file cabinets—a whole wall full of them—and instead on the floor, counters, and—I sighed, wondering how on _earth_ they'd managed to stick some to the bloody ceiling. "The files are labeled, and the papers are headed," he continued, failing to note my distress. "They should have numbers printed at the bottom; those help you organize them into packets, and those packets go in the appropriate files. Arrange them chronologically, and then alphabetically, since there are multiple packets per day."

"How long have you been here?" I asked, barely catching on to what he was saying.

"A couple years," he said distractedly. "I'll leave you to it—" and he was gone.

I stared after him in disbelief. I was expected to do _this_ for the whole entire day? Grumbling and mentally cursing Taylor every way I knew how, I stooped and began to pick up papers.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or any of its characters

A/N: So I like really really really love Taylor as a character, and can't you just imagine him doing this? I'm trying to figure out how Josh is going to juggle all of these things, working for Taylor, and then there's gonna be that school that they went to (where the soldier was eating bugs, remember that? Survival school), and then he works for the bartender eventually, and he's gonna get mixed up with the fireflies... idk how that's going to happen and if he's gonna be able to sleep like at all but I'll work that out when it happens :) Reviews make me a better writer! Plot ideas are especially welcome because I have a general idea of where this is going to go but it's still that- general. Feel free to PM me about anything!

Chapter Five

Eight hours and gazillions of paper cuts later, the same soldier from earlier came to fetch me. "My savior," I said dryly when he came into the room, flinging down the stack of papers I'd been trying to make sense of. "Even though, technically, you're the one who imprisoned me here in the first place."

He winced. "It was that bad?"

"Worse," I assured him, accompanying my words with a hot glare. "I was stuck in here for _eight freaking hours."_

"It's only three in the afternoon," he said apologetically. "It's not like the day's over." Like that made it better.

Unable to speak, I simply huffed, striding out the door past him. As the sun hit my face for the first time in forever, I saw Zoe running up to me, an upset look on her face.

"Zo, you ok—" I began, as she flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist, which was as high as she could reach.

"Joshie where were you?" she wailed, clinging to me like there was no tomorrow. "We were looking all over for you!"

My heart sank with the realization of what she was saying as I turned to the soldier. "Please tell me you let them know where I was going." My words were more of a plea than a statement.

He looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and refused to meet my eyes. "My orders didn't include—" he began eventually, and the way he said it let me know that even he realized how pathetic the excuse was.

"You kidnapped me from my family and then couldn't bother to tell them where I _went?"_ I yelled at him. "What were you _thinking?_ I've been gone for a whole day! They must be frantic!" Turning to Zoe, I asked, "Where are Mama and Daddy?"

"They were going to go see Taylor," she said, and I took off running towards the central building, scooping her up into my arms because her little legs couldn't carry her as fast as mine could.

_Oh, God,_ I thought as I raced past people carrying baskets of produce for the market and devices for the labs._ Mama's going to kill me._ She already had enough to worry about—doing all her fancy doctor stuff and saving lives—without stupid old me giving her a heart attack by disappearing off the face of the earth every five minutes.

"I just don't understand, we've looked—" Mama was saying hysterically to an amused-looking Taylor, who was standing in front of her with his arms crossed, as I exploded through the door, setting down Zoe.

"I'mokayIwasinthelabssorryIdidn'ttellyou," I burst out in a rush, my stream of words getting cut off as Mama crushed me in a bear hug. Tears were streaking down her face. I was seriously considering withering away and melting into the floor when Daddy gave me the look that told me I was really in for it. Then I just wanted to run away.

"Where. Have. You. Been." His voice was scathing, and nope, there was no worry in there. _What a surprise_, I thought, sighing.

"In the research labs," I said, shrinking under his glare, which almost hurt more than his words. "Helping Malcolm."

He pried Mama away from me, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Let's go home," he said sharply to me, walking her out the door. "Zoe!"

My sister followed them out, giving me one last, unhappy glance. I turned to Taylor, who seemed about to start laughing. "It's not funny!" I said, hurt.

He was smirking. "You didn't tell them?"

"I forgot!" I said defensively. "I didn't know that you'd send someone over to forcibly remove me from my home and make me work! I thought I'd have time to tell them in the morning while I was eating breakfast! And by the way, I didn't get any lunch break!"

"Too bad," he said. "Your fault."

"No," I said, incredulous, "It's yours. I need to eat!"

"You could have just left anytime," he said. "There was no one watching you."

"I know." I folded my arms. "But I said I'd work. You didn't give me permission to take a lunch break, so I didn't."

There was a hint of something that could have possibly been approval in his eyes, but it was quickly gone. "Better go catch up with your parents," he said gruffly. "You're in enough trouble already."

As I turned to leave, he called after me, "Our deal remains between us, got it?"

"Fine," I grumbled, before jogging away to rejoin my family.

Once we got back, Mama went away to the infirmary to keep doing important medical stuff, and Zoe went back to her daycare. (This last part took much wheedling on my and Mama's part, as she didn't want to leave me. Again.)

I was left alone with Daddy, who, sure enough, had been waiting until the girls were out of the house to start screaming. I stood in front of him, hands open at my sides, bracing myself for the verbal beating. A vein bulged in his neck, and I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears as he spoke, obviously trying very hard to remain calm. "You realize your mother has better things to do than run around trying to find you."

I nodded, staring at the ground, unable to speak.

"And so do I." He crossed his arms, and I could feel the heat of his disapproving glare, even though I wasn't looking up.

"I know," I managed.

"Would it have been that hard to simply _tell_ us before you vanish into thin air?" he asked, his voice raising slightly.

"I forgot," I mumbled.

"What was that?" he barked.

"I forgot," I repeated, just barely loud enough so that he could hear me.

"You _forgot."_ His voice was disbelieving. "Do you have any idea how long we were looking for you?"

I shook my head.

"A whole hour," he hissed. "Your mother was beside herself; Zoe wouldn't stop crying, Maddie kept spouting numbers like she does when she's stressed—"

_And you would have been standing there with a blank look on your face,_ I wanted to say but didn't. "I'm sorry," I said miserably. "I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear I didn't—"

"You're grounded," he said, cutting off my apology. "For a week. No leaving the house except for survival school."

My head snapped up. "School?"

"You're in a world full of dinosaurs," he snapped. "Since you have a habit of running away where I can't find and save your butt, you have to learn to do it yourself. Besides, you won't be completely alone; Maddie will be there too."

How was I supposed to tell him about my job? "But—"

"No buts," he said sternly.

"I'm working for Taylor, though," I said quickly, before he could tell me to shut up.

"Why?" he asked. "What could you possibly help him with?"

His scathing words wounded my pride. I almost snapped at him, but remembered I was still in trouble. "I dunno. He seems to get pleasure out of watching me run around exhausting myself with pointless, mind-numbingly boring labor."

As I said this, I realized that my none-too-enthusiastic description of the job only sealed the bill of my father's approval. "Well, deal with it, it builds character," he said. "You can juggle that and school if you take school in the late afternoon."

I stammered out buts for a few moments, then spun on my heel and stomped into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. Only it didn't slam loud enough, so I opened it and slammed it again before throwing myself down on the bed and screaming into my pillow.

Life just hated me. _Hated_ me with a burning, blazing passion.


End file.
